Video: Purdue Researchers Develop Hands-On 3D Digital Modeling Tool

Designers typically use 3D modeling software to create designs using a mouse and a computer screen. But what if they could also use hand gestures similar to how they might actually sculpt a geometric-shaped design to create new designs?

Now they can, thanks to researchers at Purdue University, who have created a hands-on design tool called Shape-It-Up that interprets gestures and movements, thus enabling designers to create and modify 3D shapes through the natural user interface of their own two hands.

To use the tool, a designer would create shapes in a computer by interacting with a virtual workspace through hand gestures and movements, which are observed and interpreted by custom computer algorithms and a depth-sensing camera. The shape is then displayed on a large-screen monitor.

These 3D-printed designs were created with the use of Shape-It-Up, a new design tool created by researchers at Purdue University that allows designers to use hand gestures to created 3D geometric shapes. (Source: Mark Simons, Purdue University)

The invention of Karthik Ramani, the Donald W. Feddersen professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and a team of graduate and postdoctoral researchers, will be especially helpful to designers who find conventional CAD work nonintuitive and struggle to design in this way, Ramani told Design News in an email. “Our concept is positioned to change CAD in the future to be more human-centric," he told us. "We will redefine it to be more human-centric and democratize design, which is currently accessible to only a few.”

Ramani said Shape-It-Up, which its inventors initially began working on four years ago, is not meant to replace or supplement CAD, but to allow designers -- both professional and hobbyist -- to work in a more natural way as part of their design process.

“The benefits enable anyone to become a designer,” he told us. “It makes it easy for one to learn -- even kids are able to use our tool in tests. The benefits span designers, artists, manufacturers, game developers, and many others we have not yet imagined.”

Specifically, Shape-It-Up leverages the Microsoft Kinect camera, which senses 3D space and can track a person’s body and its movements without the use of handheld electronics. Researchers coupled this with algorithms they developed for recognizing hand gestures, as well as for understanding that the hand is interacting with a particular shape. The algorithms also can modify the shape in response to the hand interaction.

The National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps and Accelerating Innovation Research programs supported the development of the tool as a way to address the limitations of conventional CAD tools for creating products with geometric shapes.

Ramani and his team are currently working with industry partner ZeroUI to improve the tool’s depth-sensing cameras so the tool can eventually be offered commercially to “make a real-world impact,” he said.

i agree with you, TJ, I think with the additions of some other helper devices, this could really be something professionals could leverage to make design more intuitive. I think Ann agrees with you, too, as I believe she explains in a comment. The 3D display is a great idea but you're right, those glasses are a bit clunky. But perhaps there will be some solution to replace them in the future...

TJ, the 3D shapes being outputted at this early stage are very, very simple compared to some of the more complex ones like rocket engine parts or aircraft components that DOD subcontractors and NASA are designing for 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Considering those added levels of complexity implies to me that similar added levels of complexity in gestures would be necessary.

Ann, I wouldn't call this crude at all. I can easily see this evolving into a very workable interface. But I think it will not work soley by itself. There will be something like an IPad and a keyboard to go along with it.

Boy, combine this with a really good 3-D display (though I hate the glasses necessary), and you've got a heck of a design system.

Elizabeth, like I said I think this is a great idea. For educational purposes it sounds especially useful. I'm just not convinced it will work in actualization for professional engineers because of the complexity involved.

TJ, I know how crude the 3D software was in the 1980s, since I reported the first 3D printer from 3D Systems. So this may eventually get better. All I'm pointing out is that it's crude now, and that the sophistication needed in user input may be far too complex to achieve by gestures.

I agree, TJ, this tool has a bit of a way to go before it will be ready for professional use. But it's a good start! I think cubicles are probably getting smaller, not bigger, so those grand gestures you mention just wouldn't be practical unless someone was working from home! But I think that could also be physically tiring. As you point out, we'll just have to see how it evolves.

You're right, Ann, it did seem rudimentary to me, too, at this point. But a good idea and possibly as it evolves it could become more useful to pros. I think in the early stages it's meant to be more for amateurs or hobbyists who want to design but aren't into using CAD tools.

Yes, Chuck, I'm sure maybe "anyone" is an exaggeration, but it sure seems to simplify the process. And I imagine as you point out it will be especially helpful for kids to get them going and plant the seeds as early as possible for the next generation of engineers.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

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